Tips for coming back ONLINE full-time!

davidgti

Lao Lao wrote: »

Hi David, GL with this venture, really hope it works out! Do you mind if I ask some questions as I'm quite interested in this?

Thank you, no problem

You say you used to play 1/2 and 2/4 before, was this full time of just recreational?

Full-time

If it was full time before, why did you stop and how long did you stop for, what did you do instead for a job and why have you decided to go back to the poker now?

Well, i stoped playing poker online full-time as i had lost all my bankroll. I was doing quiet well off 1/2 and 2/4 at the time. I used to get max 4 to 6 hours sleep a day, and i was up between 5/6 every morning multitabling 8/12 tables. I had built my bankroll to 38k. One day, the site introduced a roulette table into the site. I decided i'd give the poker a break for the night and watch a film with a few beers. I played on the roulette table and i kept the same betting pattern throughout. My bet each spin totaled 14-16$. I was up an estimate of 400$ after 2 hours of playing. I thought to myself, if i make my bet bigger and keep the same strategy of playing i would increase my profits. I wanted to hit the 50k mark while i was watching the film. I went to betting $100 and then it went to $500 on numbers. Sometimes i was just betting on numbers and pressing the re-bet button. Within 15-20 my whole entire bankroll was down to $650 dollars. I've never ever felt so down and depressed after it. I make a HUGE mistake, and i am embarressed and ashamed about it, but this time i want to do everything right and make no mistakes. I think i have learnt my lesson

You have a bankroll of $5K - $6K correct?

Yes

How manys hours / hands do you plan to play per day?

Starting off playing as many hours as i can. Using as many breaks as i can.
I'm currently in the process of planing my hours out for myself.

What is your target profit either per day/session/week or even per year?

No target per day or session.
Instead i'm going to set myself targets every month according to the stake im currently at.

Apologies for the bombarding of questions but as I say, I am quite interested in this. Again, best of luck in this, I wish you every success, unless you end up at a table with me


No problem, glad to give you an insight into this.

Cheers

Brian

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davidgti

cooker3 wrote: »

Do you really have only around $6000? That is really not that much, especially with how the $ is. Do you have a backup plan up if doesn't work out. Are your out-goings big. That's all pretty important.

Yes i will have just over $6000. Do you think i should have more for the stakes i am going to play?

TommyGunne

6k is fine for 0.50/1.

Don't limit yourself to iPoker is the biggest single piece of advice I can give you. The games can suck really badly there sometimes. Mornings can be really ghey so it always helps if you have the option of playing on an american site like FT or stars imo.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

very best of luck with this, not many people would own up to doing that sort of money on that sort of thing.

Lao Lao

Cheers for the reply - Fair play to you. Not many people would come on here and post about the roulette like that!

Best of luck with the new venture - I would agree with Tommy Gunne re iPoker, when I have played there during the day, it can be pretty sh1te!

cooker3

davidgti wrote: »

Yes i will have just over $6000. Do you think i should have more for the stakes i am going to play?

Well it depends more on your outgoings and situation. How much you spend per month etc. It would be more then enough for a casual player but if I was to do it as I suppose I am sort of am currently I'd want to be playing higher or just have something in reserve

cooker3

Also TG makes a good point. Anyone have suggestions for good games in the mornings?

dvdfan

Very brave and honest to admit that loss on here. I went pro if youd even call it that less that a year ago IIRC, my plan was bad from the beginning and to be honest looking back i wasnt even near anywhere good enough and im still not sure if i am still good enough. Ive little or no living expenses, no kids, mortgage, car etc and i had a job waiting for me if it didnt work out so id nothing to lose.

I didnt have a big bankroll maybe 30bi and i started at 100nl, not sure details are a bit sketchy but i was running hot for the month before making over $5k at 100nl. So i thought it would be easy and the plan was to move to 200nl asap and then make a living off that. It didnt work out like that though and ive been living off rake mostly if im honest, Quickly looking at this years profits im up $1200 and about $6k in rakeback, and probably $1.5k in tourneys and possibly another $2.5 in bonuses etc so thats $11,200 for 7 months i.e $1600 per month which is brutal.

My ideals were based around rakeback, if i play x amount of hands and breakeven, at one stage i was 12 tabling, constantly timing out and making split second decisions, not thinking about the hands and things went pair shaped. Im eventually at the conclusion that the only way i have an edge over people is to 4 table and no more and concentrate on every decision, when i do this and stick to it i do very well but when i get greedy an add extra tables i make way too many mistakes and am much more likely to continue to make more and this has been where ive made most of my big losses that contribute to my poor results.

I really admire people who can put a thought process into the game while playing 6 or more tables but i have to concede that i cant and probably never will be able to, just like i cant do quick subtraction so i guess it comes down to genetics etc and natural ability.

The thing is over them 7 months ive averaged 16k hands a month, and i was away on 3weeks holidays and didnt play for a week after i got back so the results are really over 6 months. Im now playing 5k hands a week but just running at 5bb/100 per week for 5k hands should net me close to $850 per week inc rakeback x 4 weeks = $3400 x next 7 months = approx $24k and thats probably about 20 hours a week 4 tabling. If i 8tabled for 20 hours instead i think id probably see around $11k again.

I did move to 200nl but there was a good few times when i fell close to dropping to 100nl and probably should have because i was spending more than i was making. Then i deceimated my bankroll to go on a holiday to Asia for 3 weeks and my bankroll was $1400 when i got back about 6 weeks ago. When my rakeback comes in in a few days ill be back to $6k and playing 200nl although some of that money i earned doing a part time job i took on the internet but 7 months later im no better off than i was but dont really regret it. I try to think of it as a business, the first few months you have to be prepared to take a wage cut while you build the business and then get to reap the rewards when its built up. I hope ive learned enough in the last year to reap my rewards now.

So my point is and even if i read this 6 months ago i probably wouldnt listen but concentrating on your game and making the right decsions and thinking and posting hands will likely be more profitable than trying to achive x amount of rakeback especially if youve been out of the game for a long time.

Now the amount above might not be much to most people and living off $11k over 7 months might sound like a nightmare but i really enjoy having the day to myself, to do what i want, go to the Gym, game of pitch and putt, lie on in bed, fcuk off to Asia for a few weeks or somewhere for the weekend wothout worrying about work on Monday monrning, live anywhere in the world that has decent internet access.

Of course if i only make the same in the next 6 months then i probably wont be playing poker at that stage but i really hope i will be as this is the ideal job for me and id love to be living in a nice condo somewhere in Asia playing poker for a living and living for at least 1/5th of the cost it would cost to have the same lifestyle here.

So good luck with it David, btw in May i had a 30bi upswing followed immediately by a 30bi downswing both within the same 30 day period so although i would have said that 30bi is fine for this level when your playing for a living you really should have 50bi+ although i dont currently follow that advise myslef its a bit cheeky to be giving it out.

davidgti

Ok im after writing down some rules for myself. I got some of these of the internet and some posts on boards.
What rules do you think i should delete and what other rules i should add etc...
I know not everyone agrees with having rules, but i feel it's my best way to start so that i treat it properly as business.
Also, what other quotes should i add to inspire me when i read the rules.

Money Making Online Poker Rules
Remember: You goal in poker is to deduce the right action to take given the information you have available in relation to the particular situation you are in at the present time in the present hand. It is not to attempt to win every day or every hand.

Try not to make playing higher your goal make playing better your goal.
Never play under 30 buyins. You will always have 50 buyins before you move back and 60 buyins to move up a level. Hense, you will never go under 25 buyins.
STAKES BUYINS NEEDED DROP BACK BUYINS
50/1 3,000 2,500
1/2 6,000 5,000
2/4 12,000 10,000
3/6 18,000 15,000
5/10 30,000 25,000

PS. This has really confused me, and am i on the right track.

Never mix games i.e. Texas holdem and Omaha at same time, play tournaments and cash at the same time or mix 10 seats with 6 seaters.
Never play more than 4 six seater tables or 8 ten seater tables at same time.
Never fall victim to the trap of overemphasising your wins and dampening your loses.
Never play when you are tiered.
Never bet on the river when only a better hand is calling you.
Never go on tilt, and take your bad beats well.
Never play when your not feeling well or in bad form.

Always take your time remember, patience is its own reward!
Admit to yourself that you make mistakes but don’t leave them get you down Try to carve out and fix these mistakes.
Always spend a few minutes watching the players before sitting down at a cash table.
Always take notes on players and keep them up to date.
Always move up stakes if your bankroll exceeds 60 buyins.
Always keep notes on your session in a diary.
ie. played well, lost with AA all in pre twice etc. This will help you feel better when you’ve made a net loss over a few days. Also write down why you won money ie. guy tilted, won a race, got lucky etc.
Always analyse your notes and hand history after each session.
Always play ABC poker until you win your first pot or for the first 20 minutes.
Always set aside the number of hours your going to play for in a session.
Always leave if the game is very tough, or you feel you are not playing well.
Always stay if the game is very weak or you are playing your best game.
Always play every hand individually and give it your best play at every giving time.
Always take your time on every situation.
Always stick to your game plan.
Always give your full concentration to tournaments and watch players carefully.

Under no circumstances will these rules be broken. Always remember these rules are set out to make you money, so stick with the rules and role in the cash !!!

Thank you everyone for the replies and well wishes, ill get back to everyone in time.

davidgti

AdMMM wrote: »

Best of luck with this Dave.

Firstly, get a tracker like Hold Em Manager and learn how to use it by watching a video like this on DeucesCracked. In fact, given how you haven't been playing online in along time, it would be of great benefit to subscrible there as the games have changed dramatically since you last played! I'd then recommend you purchase hand histories from somewhere like HandHQ and load these into Hold Em Manager. These will prove invaluable as you'll have tonnes of information on almost every reg at a particular level before you even play a hand!

I just had a look at the link you sent on. Do you think this is the best one to use?

AdMMM

People will tell you that's there no much in the difference between the two main trackers. At the moment, I feel Hold Em Manager is the more complete package!

TommyGunne

davidgti wrote: »

Never mix games i.e. Texas holdem and Omaha at same time, play tournaments and cash at the same time or mix 10 seats with 6 seaters.
Never play more than 4 six seater tables or 8 ten seater tables at same time.
I mix games all the time, as do most people I know. It shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't limit myself to 4 tables for sure as well. More tables = more money if you can handle them
Never bet on the river when only a better hand is calling you.Badly phrased as you obv have to bluff now and again, but the concept of not turning your hands into a bluff unintentionally is a mistake that a hell of a lot of beginning to intermediate players make. When they get better they just say its really thin.
Always spend a few minutes watching the players before sitting down at a cash table.Probably a waste of time. Thats why you have datamining tools.
Always move up stakes if your bankroll exceeds 60 buyins.Couldn't disagree more. Why would you move up if your only a marginal winner at the level? A good few posts I have seen from pros advocate a roll of up to 100bi anyway
Always play ABC poker until you win your first pot or for the first 20 minutes.Why limit yourself to doing this? Just don't get overly creative against someone that is quite likely to like calling.
Always stick to your game plan.Having a game plan is silly and implies that you don't think and act dynamically.

.

KevIRL

I dont have anything to add in terms of advice, just wanted to add my best wishes to ya on this Dave.

davidgti

Thanx for your response TommyGunne. As i have said, I have played online before and i really feel i need these rules. I have mixed games in the past and they have made me make a few mistakes so thats why i don't want to mix games.
The never bet on the river rule.... i agree it is badly phrased, and is pretty standard knowledge to a good poker player. I definetly have to revise this rule.
When do you think i should move up or down stakes?
The reason for playing ABC poker at the start, is to try and get off to a winning start and also to get a greater knowledge of my opponents play.
Having a game plan is silly, but my plans will be simple like a target to find the fish etc. etc.
Thanx for your help really appreciated.
Anyone have any other rules that would be valuable?

AdMMM

You should move down stakes when you're no longer rolled for a particular level and you should move up stakes when you feel like you can beat the level.

By using a tracker and a HUD, there's no need to play ABC poker to gain knowledge of your opponents play and get off to a winning start as you already have all the info I need!